“Virtual Coastguard”: an always-on system that directs boat users to put their lifejackets on once they’re out on the water around New Zealand. Using a geo-fence surrounding the entire country, the system intercepts boat users across a range of mobile apps and sites once they’ve left the shore with a simple, direct message: “We can see you’re out on the water. Get it on or its no good.” The idea was a world-first for Google.

To establish “Virtual Coastguard” we created a targeting zone around NZ’s entire 14,000km coastline; this meant setting up hundreds of different longitude and latitude markers around the coastline to effectively geo-fence the entire country – a world first for Google.

We activated this across Facebook, Instagram, Google Display Network and 24 additional ad networks to maximise coverage. For extra safety, we up-weighted exposure in 300 of NZ’s most popular and dangerous fishing spots using GPS data purchased from fishing bodies. The system is always live, ensuring prompts are delivered to any boat user when they’re on the waters around New Zealand.

We made New Zealand the world’s first entirely geo-fenced country, and it’s working:

• Over 3 million lifesaving prompts delivered so far – and climbing every day.

• Message engagement rates are up to 700% higher than land-based ads, showing their relevance.

• 60% reduction in boating fatalities achieved so far.

Deliver highly visible reminders to put a lifejacket on, at the moment that matters most: once boat users are out on the water. To achieve this we turned to the one channel research showed us was a ubiquitous part of the boating occasion – the mobile phone. We sought to provide a series of un-missable behavioural prompts across any mobile app or site a boat user was accessing once they were off shore. The system is always-on and up-weighted to areas that data shows us are either most popular or dangerous for boat users.

Every year, recreational boat users were drowning unnecessarily in New Zealand waters. In almost every case, they weren’t wearing a lifejacket. This was despite most actually carrying lifejackets on board. After years of campaigning, the message just wasn’t turning into action out on the water.